


in the agony of parting

by rovio



Category: Yuri!!! on Ice (Anime)
Genre: Brief Background Mari/OC, Gen, Goodbyes, Pre-Canon, Sibling Love
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-24
Updated: 2017-07-24
Packaged: 2018-12-03 02:23:27
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,000
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11522556
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rovio/pseuds/rovio
Summary: "You've packed everything already, huh?" Mari's voice echoes in the empty room. "Even the posters."





	in the agony of parting

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Lazchan](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lazchan/gifts).



> Since the canon is so vague about Yuuri's whereabouts in the previous five years, in this fic I went with the version where he was in Detroit for only about one year/skating season, and studied and skated somewhere else before that, keeping Vicchan with him.

Hasetsu isn't a small town and neither is Fukuoka, but Tokyo is different. It's a never ending sea of lights spreading under her feet and that sight is always almost dizzying. Mari's been here often enough to visit her brother but she's never gotten used to it.

 _I'm never going to like it either_ , she thinks when she steps into the bustling airport. It's a strange kind of relief to know that she doesn't have to come here again any time soon.

She had told Yuuri that she'd take a taxi, but he and Vicchan are waiting for her anyway.

 

They drop her suitcase at Yuuri's place first. Mari looks around, not that there's much to look at.

"You've packed everything already, huh?" Her voice echoes in the empty room. "Even the posters."

"Yeah." Yuuri shrugs, a faint blush crawling up his neck. Mari wants to pinch his cheeks. "Mom and dad took a few things with them and I sold the rest. There's no point in taking everything with me."

He doesn't say it, but Mari hears the _since they might send me back right away_ anyway. There's no use telling him he's worrying for nothing so she doesn't.

 

"You don't have to stay and watch if you don't want to," Yuuri says, looking up at her.

Mari settles deeper into her seat, burrowing into her thick coat and wrapping her gloved fingers around the steaming mug. Vicchan sits next to her on a small pillow and Mari has a blanket to spread over them both if they need it.

In stark contrast, Yuuri is wearing a T-shirt and pants. He's not even shivering.

"Oh, shut up already. Go and say your goodbyes. Or skate them, whatever."

Yuuri grins and takes off, and Mari's breath catches. It always does.

 

Yuuri's always hungry after practice so they stop at a small restaurant. The man behind the desk knows Yuuri by name and only asks what Mari wants. His smile is a bit wistful when he brings their dishes.

If there's a story Yuuri isn't telling, well. Mari is good at not asking questions he doesn't want to answer.

"Wait, is that katsudon?" In the off-season? Then it clicks and this, she thinks, is something she can ask. "Ah, missing home already?"

"It's not as good as mom's," Yuuri says. Then he relents. "You know I do, so. Just this once."

 

Mari has a few new bags when they finally make it back. Souvenirs, mostly. The triplets would scream if she didn't get them anything and the scarf is the exact shade of purple her mother loves.

"You could stay here," Yuuri says when she's crouching on the floor and repacking her suitcase. "I still have the spare futon."

Mari looks up and raises her eyebrows. "If you think I'm giving up a chance to stay in a hotel and let others do all the work, you're dead wrong."

And it's his last night with Vicchan. It's not hers to share.

 

Tokyo doesn't look any smaller from her 20th floor window. If anything, it makes her feel smaller.

Mari leans on the window frame and thinks, _fuck this city_. It's easier to be someone somewhere else. Somewhere where she isn't one in a million, one face in a crowd. Suddenly she wonders if that's why Yuuri likes this place. She's never asked.

There are advantages too. She picks up her keycard on her way out. There's a bar in the first floor and it's easy to find someone she knows for a fact she won't meet at the grocery store tomorrow.

 

She has breakfast with Yuuri and Vicchan. Yuuri doesn't say anything about the bruise on her neck she couldn't quite cover, and Mari pretends she doesn't see how most of his breakfast disappears under the table.

"You know dad's going to spoil him rotten, right? You're lucky if he's not as round as a dumpling when you get back."

Mari wishes that that date wasn't still open. It's easier to deal with strict deadlines than this.

Yuuri shrugs and smiles. "Dad can dye him pink for all I care as long as Vicchan's happy."

" _Please_ don't give him any ideas."

 

Yuuri has taken her to this park before and it's still nice. If she doesn't look up, Mari can almost forget the hulking skyscrapers around them.

It's peaceful in the shady spot she's taken over with their lunchboxes. She stretches on the grass and watches as Vicchan runs past her, paws digging into the ground and tongue lolling out.

A moment later he runs back with a stick.

"Oh, good boy, Vicchan!" Yuuri laughs and drops down to pull him close, stick forgotten.

They look happy.

Then Yuuri hides his face in Vicchan's fur, shoulders shaking, and Mari sits up.

 

Yuuri's flight to Detroit leaves earlier than Mari's train to Fukuoka. She's not sure whether it's better or worse that it's her and Vicchan saying goodbye to him instead of the other way around. It is what it is.

It's Yuuri sitting on the floor, head hanging low and Vicchan on his lap. Mari keeps her distance as long as she can, and then she can't.

"Yuuri." She touches his shoulder. His eyes and face are wet when he looks up. "That was the final boarding call."

 _Stay_ , she wants to say but doesn't. It wouldn't be fair to him.

 

Eventually Vicchan calms down and curls into a basket at Mari's feet. He's made a tiny Pomeranian friend who's sleeping next to him. Her owner is engrossed in a book. Good. Mari's not in a mood to talk.

She looks out of the train window and thinks, _if only you'd like flying too, if you hadn't been so scared that one time you did fly, if Yuuri would love you a little less_.

And if wishes were horses, Mari would have a farm.

She can't do much for her brother but she can do this. Take care of what's his.

**Author's Note:**

> Title from the quote: _Only in the agony of parting do we look into the depths of love_. - George Eliot


End file.
